Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Cinnamon goes Wine Tasting in the Okanagan Valley of BC

Here I am in the car again.

It's my last day of this great Canadian adventure. I've seen bears and eagles. I've had rides on big and small ferries. I've gone fishing and sightseeing. But now I am on the way home. I'm getting tired of being in the car even though I often doze off during the trip. So, I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.

I sat up when we got there. I saw huge lakes and hills full of vineyards. A great place to romp and play, I thought! So when we got to a beautiful vineyard and tasting room overlooking a huge lake I was ready to get out of the car. Enough winding roads for me! It's time to play, right? WRONG!

Here I am out of the car at Ex Nihilo Winery. Yay!

They got out and LEFT ME with the windows slightly cracked just so I could hear them talking about Ex Nihilo Vineyards. Now, I'm a smart pup. I know that Ex Nihilo means "creation out of nothing." It didn't look like nothing to me! They had a big patio with cushy couches. I decided ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. They went into the tasting room where I fantasized that they had lots of dog treats available. I got so upset I bayed and howled and made a complete fool of myself in the car. I wanted OUT. And, I wanted OUT NOW!

They came running out to see what the fuss was all about. It was just me being FED UP WITH BEING LEFT IN THE CAR. They took a look and got me out of the car, went for a walk in the vineyards so I could calm down and then we went over to the nice patio area.

The really nice lady in the tasting room brought their tasting outside! She also brought a book that told about the art that represented the creation story and inspired the name of the winery. They were nice to me and took my picture. They, however, gave me neither treats nor wine. But it was nice to be part of the tasting experience. After purchasing two bottles of wine AND NOTHING FOR ME it was off down the steep roads to another place.

Here's the nice lady telling me the story about the winery.

Here I am sniffing around the vineyard.

But first we passed some interesting wineries with creative names. There was Clean Slate Winery, Black Widow Winery, Laughing Stock Winery and more. I kept occupied looking at the names and wondering what was down those country roads.

Soon we pulled in to a place called Therapy Vineyards. It was therapy FOR ME when they invited ME into the tasting room! They even had a dog water bowl outside. I loved it. The people tasting wine petted me and told me how pretty I was. I think I like wine tasting after all!

After a brief walk in the Therapy vineyards, we were off for a longer drive with lake views. I had taken to laying down in back with my eyes open watching the scenery go by. Sometimes I dozed but I was always alert, just in case we went someplace I wanted to go. (Yeah, right!)

Here I am getting some petting therapy at Therapy.

So we headed out a country road and turned toward a massive hillside estate surrounded by acres of vineyards. This would be a great place for romping and chasing a ball! As we parked at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery. I noticed that they had a restaurant with a deck overlooking the valley. I would be happy to wait there, in the shade while they went wine tasting... really! Naaah. I stayed in the car, even though they were dog friendly in there.

They even sold Winery Dogs of BC Calendars in the gift shop. Now that would have been a GREAT GIFT FOR ME! But no, NOTHING for poor Cinnamon. :(

I wish I had this calendar as a souvenir.

I was happy when we left and drove across the border back to the good ol' USA and a really nice motel with lots of grass and a place where I could stay outside and watch the rain clouds gathering. It was a nice evening, they cooked dinner outside and even shared a piece of smoked salmon WITH ME! The next day I would be home to tell my friends at the dog park all about my adventure to Canada.